Police: Drunken boater hits luxury yacht in Marina Bay

Police say the blood-alcohol level of a Leicester man charged with being drunk at the helm of a power boat that sideswiped an 80-foot yacht was three times the legal limit.

They also say it was his third arrest on drunken-driving charges.

Environmental Police said Michael Gillís blood alcohol level was 0.24 percent, three times the level at which a person is deemed to be too drunk to drive. Gill, 56, of Leicester, was arraigned Monday in Quincy District Court on charges of drunken boating and leaving the scene of an accident. Gill has two previous convictions for drunken driving, according to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

The owner of the Irish Mist, who lives aboard his yacht year-round, felt a bump about 8:20 p.m. Friday and went on deck to investigate, Quincy police said.

John Fitzgerald, who brings his boat from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Marina Bay in Quincy each summer, saw a 30-foot long cruiser motoring away from his yacht, he told police. There were 20- to 25-foot scrapes on the side of the Irish Mist and damage to the rub rail.

A call was put out over the Irish Mistís radio describing the boat and giving its name, the Free Willy, according to Environmental Police Sgt. Rob Aken, who spotted it off Castle Island. Quincy police marine officer James Silcox also went to the scene.

Environmental Police towed the boat back to Marina Bay and arrested its skipper.